On Monday, Judge Steven J. McAulifee of the New Hampshire District Court granted a motion allowing the state to intervene as a plaintiff in an environmental case filed by the United States of America against the city of Manchester, N.H. claiming that it violated the Clean Water Act (CWA).
The state in its July motion alleged that the same claims filed in the original complaint applied to the state of New Hampshire and said it is also seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties from the city citing the CWA and state laws. The state said it “has a significant interest in the enforcement of the provisions … and the protection of its surface waters.”
The lawsuit, according to a complaint in intervention filed by New Hampshire, was brought under the CWA and state laws and arose from the city reportedly “discharging pollutants from its wastewater collection system” and not remaining in compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
The wastewater treatment plant involved is owned by the city. It provides services to Manchester and portions of other nearby cities, consisting of a population of about 155,000. The system contains about 385 miles of sewer pipeline which carries wastewater, and 45 percent of the pipeline also carries stormwater runoff. Excess storm and wastewater is diverted into water bodies including rivers and brooks. The lawsuit claimed these are considered “navigable waters” and “waters of the United States,” which means the additional wastewater runoff is violating the CWA.
The excess runoff, and the allegations that the runoff from the wastewater plant contain high levels of E. coli above New Hampshire’s water quality standard, allegedly prove the city’s treatment plant operations are violating its NPDES permit.
The United States and New Hampshire are seeking to stop the city from further violations of the CWA or its permit. The state in its complaint asks for a civil penalty of $37,500 per violation per day for violations between 2009 and 2015, and $55,800 per day for violations after November 2015 under the CWA. The complaint also alleged the city should pay $10,00 per violation per day under state laws.
Manchester City is represented by McLane Middleton. The federal government and New Hampshire are represented by their respective departments of justice.
